The OldFashioned Way
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day nine hundred and fifty-nine: Finn is all set to take Elsie out on their first date, just as he welcomes a new friend. - Familiar Strangers series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 45th cycle. Now cycle 46!_

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_**INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - **If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet_

_(cycle 46 cheat sheet will be up later)_

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**"The Old-Fashioned Way"  
(Future-ish) Finn/Elsie (OC-ish character)  
Familiar Strangers series  
_(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)_**

Ever since he'd brought him home, Finn doubted one day had gone by without waking up to Elmer, asleep at the foot of the bed. The dog would turn those big soft eyes up like he was making sure this was alright, and Finn would just chuckle and scratch at his ears. When Elsie had asked him about taking in the dog, either temporarily or permanently, he had no idea what he would choose to do, but as soon as he'd seen his face, scratched at his fur, he was a goner…

He'd gotten the call to go pick him up, of all days, on Saturday morning, the day he was set for his first date with Elsie. He couldn't put it off, any of it. Elmer's previous owner had to head out of state earlier than planned, and somehow rescheduling a first date felt like bad luck. But leaving the dog on his own in an unfamiliar setting didn't sound like a good idea either.

He had set him up with food and water while he was getting ready. He had showered, shaved, dressed… and every time he turned around, there was Elmer, staring at him, trotting after him… By the time he'd finished getting ready, he knew he had a problem.

He'd called Elsie, trying to see what he should do. She'd known the dog before, maybe she could tell him what to do. She told him she'd come over. He would have liked to go and pick her up, but this was how it had to be.

He sat there with the dog, trying to see if he was okay, if he could leave him… He just kept giving him those eyes…

"Come on, buddy… It's just a little while. I wouldn't go, but…" There was a knock at his door and he looked up, sighing. "It's open," he called.

The door opened and when he looked up, he froze. The first time he'd seen her out of her work uniform was one thing. But on that night, his eyes had travelled up those legs, to the dress, white with great colorful flowers that suited her just right, the hair pulled back at the sides and over her shoulder… For a moment, he properly couldn't breathe.

"Hi…" he found his voice.

"Dog problems?" she smirked.

"We… bonded," Finn defended, while Elmer sat there, pawing at his knee, trying to get the ball in his hand.

"I can tell," she laughed, moving up and crouching. "Hey, Elmer," she gave him a scratch when he noticed her and his tail got wagging. "You like it here, don't you?" The dog rose to get up to her, still too happy to bear. "He's not shy, you know," she laughed.

"Don't think he wants me to leave…"

"Oh, he'll be okay," she smirked. "But he'll give you those eyes to guilt trip you into staying," she 'frowned' to the dog, who kept looking innocent. "Just go start the car, I've got this."

"Are you sure?" he asked and she nodded, so he went. A minute later, she had come and joined him. "He's okay?" he asked, and again she nodded. "That's all it took, why didn't you just tell me over the phone?" he asked, then at her lack of answer he caught on. "You just wanted to see the apartment, didn't you?"

"Yes, well, call it what you want, asking to see a guy's place on the first date, I couldn't possibly," she made to look stunned, then gave the grin that always floored him.

"So you snooped?" he smiled.

"Only with my eyes," she held her hands in the air.

"Okay, but you know you'll have to come back now, to get your car," he pointed out.

"Don't get any ideas," she shook her head.

"I'm not, don't worry," he smiled, and they were off.

"You never said where we were going, I hope this is okay," she looked to herself.

"You're… I-it's perfect," he stumbled as he promised, and she beamed.

"Thanks. Where are we going?" she still asked.

"Dinner for sure, made reservations," he confirmed. "After that though I wanted to leave options open, you know, give you a say in it, too."

"Thank you," she smiled with surprise. "I'll have to think about that one," she sat up.

"Well, there's time," he insisted.

"I know, I know," she nodded, though he could still see she was thinking about it. He wasn't going to disrupt that.

They had made it to the restaurant, fancier than his usual Breadstix outings back in high school. He still showed just a bit of uneasiness there, but he pulled it off just fine. And now, with Elsie there, he knew he would be alright.

"Not going to ask them to put the tomatoes on the side, are you?" he teased.

"No, they know," she promised, dead serious, then laughed. "Thanks again, for Elmer," she had to say. "Brian told me he feels a lot better about having to leave him behind now that he's met you."

"No problem," he nodded. "He's great, really."

"He's a sweetie," she agreed.

"You never told me what you did to make him okay back there." She smiled.

"I told you, I just looked around. I didn't have to do anything," she shrugged.

"Oh…" he nodded and she bit back a laugh. "I'll have to think of something now so I can see your place."

"Like what?" she tested and he thought. "Can't really plan ahead," she explained. "It's all about seizing on an occasion. That's what I did."

"Like… 'your computer's acting up, why don't I come take a look?'"

"That's a good one," she agreed, then, "You know how to fix computers?"

"Okay, maybe not a computer, but like… maybe a sink, or…"

"My bathroom sink does need fixing," she remembered as he mentioned it.

"Why don't I come take a look?" he took the cue, joking around.

"Sure, why not," she responded though, and he looked to her. "Although, see, in your case, you would actually need to fix something, where all I had to do was say I'd do something without doing it, and everything was fine anyway."

"Right… I'll have to remember that." He paused. "I can still look at your sink if you want, I…"

"Don't worry about it," she shook her head. "The super will do it. He's coming, day after tomorrow."

"Good, alright."

"But, hey, you could say 'maybe I should come to make sure he did a good job.' I'll tell you already, he's excellent," she provided, smiling, and he smiled back.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The dinner had carried on, talking of this and that. Finn had kept the fact that he had figured out how he knew her a secret, just as he hadn't told her he knew about Alex. It wasn't really a problem, although he kept worrying he'd slip.

"Did you think of what we should do now?" he asked her when they left the restaurant.

"I did, yes," she perked up. "One question though: how's your stomach?"

"My s…" He was confused by her demand.

"You've digested, you're good?"

"Yes?" he answered. She just smiled.

"Well, then, Finn Hudson… I'm taking you dancing," she declared. He blinked.

"Are you sure you remember who I am?" he asked, and she laughed.

"Oh, I remember," she promised. He looked unsure. "It's a little place, a dance school, but on Saturday nights they welcome people to join in on their dance floor. We're dressed up, be a shame to waste it," she explained, smiling. "It's nothing too complicated, and you know you were getting better in the end," she reminded him, stepping about to come face him.

"It's been a while," he smirked, nervous.

"So, come on, let's go shake off that rust," she offered her hands.

Shortly after, they were arriving at the studio. There were couples already dancing about. When Elsie pulled him toward the floor to join them, he hesitated briefly, but one look at that smile and he would have gone and done anything if she asked. So he followed her, got into the hold as directed.

"Okay, this isn't so bad…" he breathed, smiling to see her so close. She laughed.

"Thought you might like it," she shrugged.

"I could crush your toes," he warned.

"Things happen," she wasn't bothered. She was very carefully leading him in the dance without him even noticing. "But I think my toes will be just fine."

"Well if you're sure," he suddenly took the reins, spinning her out before pulling her back in. She laughed, clinging back.

"Never been more sure," she looked back into his eyes, silenced… He didn't know what was meant to happen, with the things he knew and didn't know, what he wasn't saying he knew… He couldn't know how she was coping, but I had been some time now, and if she was here, with him, then she must have been ready for it, or…

The song had ended then, a new one begun, and the moment had snapped. They blinked, smiling. "This one's faster."

"Are you ready?" she asked. His answer was to lead her into the new dance, and she squealed with surprise.

They had danced on for some time before they would decide to call it a night. They weren't quite ready to go their separate ways, so they had stopped in for coffee.

"We can take Elmer, Mimi and Leo to the park some time," Finn suggested.

"Yeah, definitely," she smiled. "Although I should warn you, Mimi kind of has a… hard time 'playing well with others.'"

"She seemed fine when I saw her," he smiled.

"Other dogs," she clarified. "She warmed up to Leo, but her and Elmer haven't really made friends just yet… Or she secretly likes him, who knows?" she laughed. "We get them all together, let them get acquainted better… We get to spend time together, too, then that's bonus." He met her smile with one of his own.

After leaving the coffee shop, he had driven them back to his place, stopping at the sidewalk. "Can I walk you to your car?" he played and she smirked.

"Please do." They walked from his car over to hers, where they turned to face each other. "I had… a really great time tonight," she bowed her head. "I'm glad we did this."

"Me too," he nodded, wanting to ask if…

She had moved up on her toes and tugged him by the collar all the same, and she'd kissed him. He was surprised, but once that passed, he responded, wrapping his arms around her. When she pulled back, looking at him, she said the words he'd meant to say.

"We should do this again some time."

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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